Sound of Summer

by Annette Broadrick

  He followed the trail down the hill for about a quarter of a mile and came across tire tracks. Whoever had decided to immobilize them had gone, but for how long?

  And where did Selena fit into all of this?

  "We might as well go back to the cabin and decide how you're going to get out of here," he said.

  "I have no intention of returning to that cabin."

  "Suit yourself. You now know two roads you can follow out of here. Have fun walking. It should be good exercise for you."

  Adam disappeared along the path on which they had come, leaving Selena sitting there, dismally staring down the road.

  "I've been working on that damned series too long. My mind immediately runs to espionage and agents. But I'd love to know what's happening here and why my truck was stolen." And who Adam really is.

  Did she want to hike out of there? Not particularly, but she probably didn't have much choice. She stood up and lifted her suitcase. When she had packed it, she hadn't given a thought to having to carry it for any distance. Perhaps she'd leave it with Adam and come back for it later. Surely he wouldn't mind keeping it for her.

  With new determination and resolve, Selena started up the hill toward the cabin, carrying the suitcase. She heard Duke barking before she reached the cabin. At least he made a good watchdog.

  With a suddenness she could scarcely believe, someone grabbed her from behind, and an arm snaked around her throat. What her assailant didn't know was that one of Selena's skills, sharpened during the series, was the ability to scream instantly, a sharp, ear-piercing sound that she used every time a dead body turned up in the script for her to find.

  Her scream was one of her best efforts—her director would have been pleased.

  Not so her would-be captor. Her scream was abruptly cut off by a hand that was clapped over her nose and mouth, a hand holding a small piece of cloth soaked in chloroform.

  Adam heard the scream. He had just returned to the cabin with an armful of wood. Instinct made him grab his pistol and run outside.

  When he rounded the corner of the cabin, he froze. Two men were carrying Selena—a seemingly lifeless Selena—-away from the cabin.

  Adam took careful aim and fired the pistol, then he started toward them. He watched with growing horror as the men dropped her and ran off, one of them holding his arm.

  His heart pounding, Adam raced to her side. "Selena!" He quickly felt for her pulse, and saw that she was breathing. Then he sighed with relief. She was unconscious but otherwise seemed to be unhurt. His hands were shaking, not a good sign. He had always been known for his steady nerves.

  After double checking to be sure she wasn't injured, Adam carefully gathered her into his arms. Holding her close to him, he could smell the distinctive, sweet odor of the anesthetic.

  "What have you done to get them chasing after you?" he muttered. Determined to get some answers, he strode toward the cabin.

  Chapter Three

  Selena's head felt as though it had been used as an oversized baseball for batting practice. She moaned slightly, reluctantly opening her eyes.

  A pair of silver-blue eyes stared intently at her from a few inches away. They were surrounded by thick, black lashes that made them appear even lighter. She shut her eyes, then reopened them, trying to focus on the eyes watching her.

  She glanced around and discovered she was lying on Adam's four-poster bed. His mammoth dog lay on a rug nearby, watching her with interest. Selena carefully eased her hand behind her head and discovered a large bump.

  "Why did you grab me?" she asked plaintively.

  "I didn't. Two men did their best to carry you off."

  She stared at him in suspicion. "You didn't want me here."

  He nodded his head in agreement. "True, but I hadn't reached the point where I felt the need to chloroform you and drag you away somewhere."

  She thought about that for a moment. "Who did?"

  "A good question. A very good question, I might add. They must have tried to get into the cabin until Duke discouraged them."

  "I heard barking but thought it was at me."

  "When I saw them, they dropped you and ran." He saw no need to mention the shot he'd fired. Continuing to study her, he asked with a smile, "How do you manage to look so enticing when you're unconscious?"

  "You know, I'm not at all sure I understand your sense of humor. Maybe you've lived alone too long."

  In a more serious tone, he said, "I suppose it's too much to hope that you might have recognized them."

  "No. I thought it was you."

  "Please believe me when I tell you I had nothing to do with it."

  "Okay, if you'll believe I've had nothing to do with anything that has happened since I got my truck stuck in the mud."

  They glared at each other belligerently. Finally, Adam gave a short nod. "All right. It's gone beyond a practical joke, even if Clay were so inclined. So where does that leave us?"

  "Darned if I know. I don't understand any of this."

  Adam sighed in disgust. "That makes two of us."

  Selena absently noted that Adam was sitting next to her on the bed, leaning across her and, propped up by his arm, pressed close to her side. He was studying her.

  "Why are you looking at me like that?" she finally asked.

  "Like what?"

  "Like I'm some strange species found only under a microscope."

  "Actually I was thinking about what a beautiful woman you are."

  She closed her eyes for a moment. "Why is it I don't believe my looks have anything to do with why you're staring at me."

  "They don't?"

  "No. You're wondering why my truck was stolen, your tires slashed, and why I was almost carried off."

  "I see. Do you participate in some sort of mind-reading act when you're not filming your television series?"

  Selena wished he would move. He was entirely too close. She could smell the subtle scent of after-shave, a woodsy odor that seemed to blend in with their surroundings. "No, I don't. It doesn't take much brain power to know you're more concerned over what's been happening than you are over me."

  "Not necessarily." Adam leaned even further, his face coming closer. She looked up at him, startled. There was a definite gleam in his eyes—one she hadn't seen before. He appeared much closer than he had been earlier. What did he think he was doing?

  His lips reached hers and there was no longer any doubt in Selena's mind what he was doing. He was doing a damn good job of kissing her. His mouth caressed hers with an expertise that had not been learned living as a hermit on a mountainside. The jolt of electricity that shot through her at his touch generated enough power to light up the entire cabin as well as several appliances.

  Selena had been the recipient of any number of kisses during her twenty-five years—-stage kisses, television kisses, fumbling, moist, heavy-breathing kisses that had left her cold.

  Adam's kiss did not fit into any of those categories. For one thing, there was nothing tentative about it—nor groping. His hands remained on either side of her body, so she couldn't explain why her hands slid up his chest and around his neck, inquisitively exploring the thick, sable-brown hair that flowed like silk through her fingers.

  Her lips parted and he shifted slightly, slanting his mouth over hers in a possessiveness that caused a quivering sensation deep in the pit of her stomach. His tongue lightly explored the surface of her lips, brashing against them until they opened in invitation. He settled closer to her, his tongue teasing hers in a delicate duel. Selena found herself responding to him, her headache forgotten.

  When he eventually pulled away from her, a quizzical smile on his face, Selena realized she'd lost all track of time, of where she was, with whom, and why.

  They gazed at each other in silence, each trying to come to terms with this new development.

  Selena was no naive schoolgirl, so why did she feel so unnerved after a kiss from a man she didn't know? She tried to convince herself it was becaus
e she didn't know him—and because they were in a provocative situation. She was stranded on a mountainside at the moment with a very attractive, virile male whose skill at evoking a response from her was extraordinary.

  "Clay has extremely good taste in women." His sardonic comment effectively destroyed her bemusement.

  Selena bounced into a sitting position, the move making her head pound, which did nothing to calm her temper.

  "Damn you! How many times do I have to tell you I'm not Clay's woman? I think the term is derogatory in the first place, and it's not true in the second place!"

  Adam leaned back against the post at the foot of the bed and took in the picture Selena made, tousled and rosy cheeked, sitting on his bed. He couldn't understand his strong reaction to her. Granted he had been alone for some time, but he was a loner by nature— always had been. He had never allowed a woman to distract him before, but Selena was doing a damned good job of keeping his mind off finding a solution to the mysterious events of the past twenty-four hours.

  Selena did not trust that gleam in his eye. She edged off the bed and stood up, swaying slightly. "I've got to get out of here," she muttered.

  "How do you intend doing that?" he asked with amused interest.

  "Walk, if I have to." She recognized the futility of her ambition with every pounding throb in her head.

  Adam stood up and strolled over to the window, staring out thoughtfully. "I don't think that would be a very good idea."

  She found his bland tone irritating. "Why not?"

  "Whoever tried to abduct you is probably still outside waiting. Besides, it's clouding up to rain again. These mountain storms blow up fairly quickly." He glanced around at her. "Of course, you are used to hiking in the rain by now, aren't you? Maybe you can outrun them."

  Never had Selena met a man who stirred up her emotions so quickly. One minute he was kissing her with expertise, effectively turning her into a boneless mass of simmering heat; the next minute he was making all sorts of innuendos that infuriated her. Now he was mocking her and she yearned to be able to plant her fist in his face.

  Counting very slowly and with intense concentration, Selena managed not to tell Adam exactly what she thought of him, his behavior and his mountain country. "Do you have a better suggestion?" she finally managed to ask in a quiet voice.

  He faced her, leaning against the window's edge and crossing his arms over his broad chest. "As a matter of fact, I do. Why don't you stay up here and help me find out what's going on?"

  "Why in the world would I want to do that?"

  "You don't care that you were almost abducted today? And what about your stolen truck?"

  "Of course I care. Why do you think I'm so anxious to report it?"

  "But it hasn't yet occurred to you that this is more than a casual theft, has it? You're so used to life in the big city that car theft has become a way of life for you."

  He was right. She hadn't given much thought to why her truck was missing. Anyone stupid enough to leave keys in a vehicle could automatically assume it would be taken. But on a deserted mountainside during a storm?

  "Who would take it?"

  "Ahhhh. A very good question. Could it be the same person or persons who slashed my tires and grabbed you? In other words, is there some reason you and I are not supposed to leave the mountain at the moment?"

  Selena thought about his questions. Not many people knew where she had planned to go. Clay and Carolyn had helped her plan the trip. Carolyn had gone shopping with her to find suitable clothes, and Clay had supervised her camping equipment.

  "My camping equipment!"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "I had a sleeping bag, small tent, cook stove and a battery-operated lamp in that Bronco. They took my suitcase out of the truck. Why didn't they leave my camping equipment?"

  "Good question. Maybe they're going to be using it?" His eyes traveled over her in an encompassing sweep that made Selena feel that he could accurately describe her clothes

  size in the most intimate detail. "They probably couldn't wear your clothes."

  Selena sank down into the comfortably stuffed recliner and wearily leaned her had back against the headrest. Her head still felt woolly and this conversation wasn't helping any. "How could I help you find out what's going on?"

  "That depends. It may be that it's just coincidence that you and I are left stranded up here—a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But from the looks of it, someone wants you specifically." He straightened up from his lounging position and walked over to the coffee pot. Placing it on the stove, he fed some small pieces of wood into the grate then turned to look at her.

  "Why don't you tell me more about yourself, Selena? Perhaps you know something you aren't aware of knowing that someone feels is a threat to them."

  "That's crazy, Adam. You know something? You've been up here on your own too long." She waved a hand at the bookshelves full to overflowing. "You've been reading too many adventure books." She shook her head. "And I thought I had too much imagination." She watched him as he poured them each a cup of coffee. Setting up the cups on the table by her chair, he pulled out the other chair from the table and sat down across from her.

  "When did you leave your home yesterday?"

  "About two o'clock."

  "Were you followed?"

  "Of course not!"

  "Why are you so adamant?"

  "Because there's no reason for anyone to follow me."

  "Only to steal your car."

  "Yes. No. I don't know. I'm sure nobody was following me because I ended up having to backtrack several miles when I took the wrong turn and came across a tractor-trailer that was obviously lost"

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Well, it had all kinds of antennas and satellite dishes on it, sitting out in the middle of nowhere. At least I had room to turn around and go back the way I'd come in."

  "Do you know what sort of antennas it had?"

  "No. All I know is that it was a dead end and I realized I'd made a wrong turn. So I had to drive back several miles. I would have seen a car if I'd been followed."

  Adam leaned closer to her, his eyes gleaming silver in the darkening room. "Please try to describe what you saw on that track. It may be very important."

  Selena glanced out the window. Clouds were rolling in and covering the sun. She wouldn't be at all surprised if it started raining. "I don't know what it was. I didn't look at it all that closely."

  "Did you see anyone?"

  "No, but then I didn't look. When I realized the road stopped there, I knew I was in the wrong place so I turned around and left."

  "Did you see any cars?"

  "There may have been."

  "Think! You may have stumbled onto something you had no business seeing."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'm not sure. I'm trying to remember what I read recently about some signals being jammed on some of our communications satellites." He studied his cup for several minutes while Selena studied him.

  She wondered how old he was. He looked to be in his early forties until he smiled. When he smiled, ten years disappeared. It was too bad he didn't smile more often. He had a beautifully shaped mouth—and she suddenly remembered how his lips felt against hers.

  Adam finally spoke. "The government is testing a new communications satellite. It's supposed to be sensitive enough to pick up and transmit signals never before received. It's supposed to warn us of any potential threat that might be aimed toward us."

  "Such as?"

  "Missiles aimed at the west coast from foreign submarines."

  She stood up. "All right. That does it I don't want to hear any more." She wandered over to the window and watched as the rain began to pour from the sky. "Isn't it enough that I make my living portraying the helpful sidekick of Derringer Drake without spending my vacation trying to sift for clues regarding espionage, foreign submarines and threats of missiles, satellites and secret tracking sta
tions?"

  "How did you intend to spend your vacation?"

  She glanced over her shoulder. "From the looks of things, watching rain." She looked back out the window.

  What if Adam were right? What if his armchair sleuthing all winter had caused him to pick up on something that was really happening here on the mountain?

  What was she supposed to do about it? All she wanted was to have some peace and quiet, maybe to work on her tan; at most, to return to Los Angeles with a better understanding of where her career was heading and where she wanted it to go. She didn't care about what the government was doing, nor about who was spying on whom

  She turned around and resolutely faced her reluctant host "I don't think I'm going to be going anywhere until the rain lets up. But as soon as it does, I'm going to start hiking out of here. Sooner or later I'll find a ride or a telephone or something." She smiled. "It's not that I don't appreciate your hospitality, but this was not what I had in mind for a vacation."

  Why did it bother him to hear her planning to leave? He had never laid eyes on her before last night She meant nothing to him. Oh, yeah? a small voice asked.

  So he was more lonesome than he realized. It was good to talk to someone other than Duke, whose level of conversation left something to be desired.

  It was nothing to do with the fact she's gorgeous, intelligent, and has a smile that would melt steel at twenty paces.

  Go to hell, he told the small voice venomously.

  The room was quiet as the tension between the two of them continued to build. Lightning made the sky glow and Selena groaned. Another storm—just what she needed. There was no way she was going to be able to get out of there tonight.

  "Well, since you are so graciously accepting my hospitality for another evening, I'd better do something about feeding us."

  Adam began to pull items from his cupboards and Selena resolutely went over to the fireplace. "Would you like me to start a fire?" she finally asked.

  He grinned. "If you know how."